This is a preview of the content in our French Food Decoder app. Get the app to:
  • Read offline
  • Remove ads
  • Access all content
  • Use the in-app Map to find sites, and add custom locations (your hotel...)
  • Build a list of your own favourites
  • Search the contents with full-text search functionality
  • ... and more!
iOS App Store Google Play

peigne de Venus

Venus’s comb

Scandix pecten-veneris (Shepherd's Needle), umbels in flowering and fruiting stage, showing hairy fruits with basal, seed-bearing and long neck, giving the plant its name.

Michelin-starred chefs like to decorate dishes with the delicate foliage of the Scandix pecten-veneris or Scandix peigne de Venus (or cerfeuil à aiguillettes or aiguille de berger).

Among its many names in English are ‘shepherd's-needle, Venus's comb’, or ‘stork's needle’. It’s a salad vegetable used since ancient Greek times, but rare these days, outside of fancy restaurants.

Herbs and spices

Text © Dana Facaros

Image by G.Hagedorn